Sociedad Anónima Estatal Correos y Telégrafos, S.A., S.M.E. was incorporated on 29 June 2001, in compliance with the provisions of Article 58 of Law 14/2000, of 29 December, on fiscal, administrative and social measures.

The Council of Ministers’ approval of the Plan for the restructuring and rationalisation of the state corporate and foundational public sector on 16 March 2012 (made public by Order HAP/583/2012 of 20 March) established a number of measures, including the change of ownership of Correos, with the consequent incorporation of all the shares in favour of SEPI.

Correos is a commercial enterprise, which is governed by private law, except in matters relating to budgetary, accounting, financial control and contracting regulations, in its capacity as a company that is part of the public business sector, in accordance with the provisions of article 3 of Law 47/2003, of 26 November, on the General Budget, in coordination with article 166 of Law 33/2003, of 3 November, on Public Administration Assets.

In terms of contracting, the regulatory framework consists of:

– Law 9/2017, of 8 November, on Public Sector Contracts, transposing into Spanish law the Directives of the European Parliament and of the Council 2014/23/EU and 2014/24/EU, of 26 February 2014.

– Royal Decree-Law 3/2020, of 4 February, on urgent measures transposing various European Union directives into Spanish law in the field of public procurement in certain sectors; private insurance; pension plans and funds; taxation and tax litigation.

– The Company’s internal procurement instructions. These instructions are available to all interested parties on the Contractor Profile at www.correos.com.

Correos is the operator designated by law to provide the universal postal service in Spain. In accordance with the requirements of quality, reliability, accessibility and affordability, it delivers on the right of all citizens and legal residents to postal communications. This is in a market that was fully liberalised on 1 January 2011, in accordance with Law 43/2010, of 30 December, on the Universal Postal Service, Users’ Rights and the Postal Market.

This piece of legislation, in conjunction with Royal Decree 1829/1999 of 3 December (Postal Regulations), primarily concerns the regulation of the conditions of collection, acceptance, distribution and delivery of the universal postal service that is required of the designated operator. It also addresses the cost and financing of these obligations, prices and other tariff conditions for postal services.

Correos, in its capacity as the designated carrier, offers a comprehensive range of parcel delivery options and is subject to the provisions of Law 16/1987 of 30 July on the Regulation of Land Transport and Law 15/2009 regulating the Contract for Land Transport of Goods.

In accordance with the provisions of Law 19/2013, of 9 December, on Transparency, Access to Public Information and Good Governance, all public sector companies are obliged to publish and regularly update information that is relevant to ensuring transparency in relation to the operation and control of their public activities.

The Regulatory Compliance Programme aims to establish the principles and guidelines that must govern the development of the activities and commercial relations of the companies in the Correos Group, both internally, in terms of the companies that make up the Group – employees, managers and directors who, in the exercise of their functions, act on behalf of each of them – and externally, in the market and with the rest of the competitors.

The Board of Directors of Correos, at its meeting of 22 July 2021, approved the current Criminal Risk Prevention Programme, which includes the General Code of Conduct of the Correos Group. The documents that make up the Criminal Risk Prevention Programme, ratified by each of the Group’s companies, reflect the reference values in their way of working and contain the general principles that govern their actions, with which all Group employees are obliged to comply.

Likewise, the Board of Directors, at its meeting of 27 April 2022, approved the Correos Group’s Corporate Risk Control and Management Policy, which includes the risk of regulatory and criminal compliance. The policy establishes a Control and Management System based on principles and guidelines to reasonably ensure the systematic identification, analysis, management and control of risks that may affect the achievement of the established targets, through an appropriate assignment of responsibilities and the regular updating of the system by the Correos Risk Committee.

The documents, available on the corporate website and intranet, are periodically reviewed in order to incorporate the necessary changes to respond to new internal and external requirements.

For the Correos Group, integrity and professional efficiency are essential elements of action to generate bonds of trust and stronger relationships with customers, employees and society in general.

The Correos Group has established the Internal Reporting System in accordance with the requirements of Law 2/2023 of 20 February, regulating the protection of persons who report regulatory infringements and the fight against corruption. For these purposes, and in accordance with the aforementioned regulations, the Correos Internal Information System is made up of the Internal Information System Policy, the Information Management Procedure, the Ethics Channel and the Internal Information System Manager, known as the Compliance Committee. A link called “Ethical Channel” is available on the Intranets and corporate websites of Correos Group companies, which allows access to a platform with appropriate technical measures to guarantee the confidentiality and security of the information, as well as anonymity when opting for this form of communication.